Sherrone Moore contract: Why hasn't the Michigan coach signed the deal yet?
Michigan's first-year coach Sherrone Moore led his Wolverines team to a 30-10 victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs. In the process, he notched up his first win as a head coach in college football.
It comes weeks after the program was handed a Notice of Allegations by the NCAA with Moore implicated due to his role in the sign-stealing scandal from last year.
According to a USA TODAY report, Moore has been coaching without a formal contract. This is despite Michigan announcing that he had been signed to a five-year, $6 million deal when he was named departed coach Jim Harbaugh's successor in February.
In a statement released on Thursday, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel confirmed that Sherrone Moore's contract had not been signed, but both parties are working on one.
"They don’t just happen overnight, and there are things that have popped up," Manuel stated.
According to the USA TODAY report, Sherrone Moore is working under an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) document. It dictates the future deal that the coach will sign, including bonuses and salary, but does not dictate the circumstances under which he would be sacked.
The institution, via spokesman Dave Ablauf, sent an email to USA TODAY revealing that a contract for their coach would be finalized in short order.
"Coach Moore and his representative have been working with our university attorneys to complete a fully executed contract and we expect that to be finalized soon," Dave Ablauf wrote in the email.
Sherrone Moore under the spotlight for sign-stealing scandal
The sign-stealing scandal that has dogged the Michigan Wolverines since last year is showing no signs of abating. The program was recently handed a Notice of Allegations by the NCAA.
First-year coach Sherrone Moore found himself under the spotlight when it was revealed that he had deleted 52 text messages. These messages were between himself and the central character in the controversy, Connor Stalions, when the investigation by the NCAA began.
During a preseason news conference after the Notice of Allegations was handed to the Wolverines, the coach claimed innocence.
“All I can say is I look forward to them (text messages) being released,” Moore said.
The Michigan Wolverines lost 17 starters from last year's all-conquering team and their coach Jim Harbaugh too, as he departed for the NFL. Sherrone Moore will be under pressure to prove that he has the chops to lead the program through choppy waters, even with the NCAA bearing down on him.